1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a bay window for use with mobile living quarters, such as recreational vehicles, manufactured housing, and specialty trailer structures.
2. Description of the Related Art
Physical dimensional restrictions limit the amount of interior space within many structures providing living space. For example, recreational vehicles, manufactured housing, and specialty trailer structures are restricted in their width dimension because of space restrictions on the highways upon which these structures are transported. However, once the recreational vehicle, manufactured housing, or specialty trailer component has completed its transport, either temporarily or permanently, the structure no longer has a width restriction. In fact, the occupants of those structures would prefer to have a greater amount of interior living space.
To accommodate the desire for additional interior space, several different configurations have been employed. One example involves creating a pop-out compartment formed by the extension of side walls from the recreational vehicle. In the side walls"" retracted position, the side walls form interior partitions within the vehicle. These interior partitions limit the amount of interior space within the vehicle when the compartment is retracted.
Another example involves a tent camper with a lateral slide-out room. The tent camper includes a camper main body that is pulled in a longitudinal direction by a towing vehicle. A roof, aligned above the camper main body, is movable between a lowered, storage or transport position and a raised, camping or deployed position. The lateral slide-out room, coupled to the camper body, is movable in a lateral direction between a retracted, storage position and an extended, operational position. This allows the lateral slide-out to extend and provide additional living space within the camper. The interior space of the camper is not habitable in the retracted, transport position; therefore, the overlap or interior partition of the slide-out side walls within the camper is not an issue.
A further example involves a mobile accommodation structure such as a caravan or motor home with a foldable extension for enlarging the volume of the vehicle. A wall panel is attached to guide rails on the side of the vehicle for pivotal and sliding movement over the vehicle side wall. Another wall panel is only pivotally connected to the side wall, while the middle wall panel is pivotally connected to both other wall panels. The roof of the accommodation structure is hinged on the vehicle roof edge, enabling it to move from a position overlying the vehicle roof to a position covering the trapezoidal recess formed by the side walls when deployed. The floor is hinged on the floor edge so that it is capable of moving from a position parallel to the vehicle side wall to a position co-planar with the vehicle floor.
Each of these prior structures includes drawbacks in terms of the use and reliability of the extension unit. In most recreational vehicles, the creation of interior partitions in the retracted position diminishes the utility of the extension, as often such interior partitions interfere with the amount of the space within the vehicle during transport, either as living or storage space. The deployment mechanisms, such as the pivotal and sliding connection on the body of a recreational vehicle, require manufacturing complication and expense to create the extension unit. Also, the movable connections of the wall panels with the vehicle require seals to prevent the penetration of moisture and the elements into the interior region. Finally, the difficulty of deploying the additional interior space often involves complex mechanisms requiring application of significant force on the mechanism. However, for convenience of use, units which may be deployed using only the equipment associated with the structure are preferred.
For both aesthetic and practical reasons, it is desirable that movable living quarters, such as recreational vehicles, manufactured housing, and specialty trailer structures, include distinctive architectural features such as bay windows, which also increase natural lighting within the unit. However, it is also necessary that the overall width of such movable living quarters with such distinctive architectural features be limited to that which can be accommodated for movement along a public highway. Furthermore, it is desirable that the interior living space be maximized for the otherwise space-limited movable living quarters. For all these reasons, any such distinctive architectural features cannot extend beyond the sidewalls of the vehicle when the vehicle is moved, but are greatly desired when the living quarters unit is deployed.
What is needed in the art is an extension unit which provides the desired additional interior space and distinctive architectural features without creating interior partitions, which minimizes leakage points into the interior space, and which accomplishes these goals with a minimal increase in complication and expense.
The present invention relates to a track capable of being aligned with the opening of a wall of a living quarters structure to provide a bay window extension unit. A window frame with a window is movable between a folded position, adjacent to the opening of the wall, and an extended position, spaced from and parallel to the wall. A bay window panel is connected to the window frame and is also movable between a folded position, adjacent to the opening of the wall, and an extended position, transverse to the wall and extending from the opening of the wall to the window frame. The track is operably engaged with one end of the bay window panel to provide the range of movement between the folded and extended position.
The present invention relates to a foldable bay window which may be mounted in the side of such mobile living quarters. When the unit is parked for use, the bay window is extended from the vehicle to provide both architectural distinctiveness and to permit increased natural lighting in the interior of the vehicle. The bay window also provides a shelf upon which plants, etc. may be placed to be exposed in the sunlight provided by the bay window. When the unit is to be moved, the bay window can be folded substantially flat against the side of the unit, so that the overall width of the unit is not appreciably changed, thereby permitting travel on public roads and also protecting the bay window from damage.
A plurality of panes are mounted for movement relative to the sidewall of the mobile living quarters and to each other. A roof panel is movably mounted on the sidewall for closing an opening defined between the panes and the wall when the bay window is in the extended position. The panes and roof panel are movable outwardly from the wall when the bay window is moved into the extended position, and can be folded against the wall when the bay window is moved into the folded position. The panes may be connected by a pane connecting hinge. The roof panel includes an attachment edge and a roof attachment hinge pivotally attaching the roof panel to the wall for movement. The roof panel moves between a substantially vertical position when the bay window is in the folded position to an outwardly extending position extending outwardly from the sidewall when the bay window is in the extended position. The roof panel is supported in the outwardly extending position by the panes. The panes are slidably mounted in a track mounted on the sidewall.
The panes include a pair of side panes and a center pane extending between the side panes, and a pair of pane connecting hinges, with each pane connecting hinge connected the center pane to a corresponding one of the side panes. Each of the side panes includes a mechanism for mounting the side panes for sliding and pivoting movement relative to the wall, the mechanism including a pin extending from an edge of each side pane, each pin slidably engaging a horizontally extending track on the sidewall. The roof panel includes an attachment edge and a roof attachment hinge pivotally attaching the roof panel to the sidewall for movement between a substantially vertical position when the bay window is in the folded position to an outwardly extending position extending outwardly from the wall when the bay window is in the extended position, with the roof panel being supported in the outwardly extending position by the panes. The bottom panel extends between the panes and pivots with respect to the wall between a substantially horizontal position when the bay window is in the extended position and a substantially vertical position when the bay window is in the folded position. The bottom panel is pivotally connected to the center pane for movement about a generally horizontal axis, and is slidably mounted on the sidewall for sliding movement in a generally vertical direction. The bottom panel extends between the panes and pivots with respect to the sidewall between a substantially horizontal position when the bay window is in the extended position and a substantially vertical position when the bay window in the folded position.
The present invention, in one form, involves mobile living quarters having a wall and a window opening in the wall with an upper edge, a lower edge, and a pair of side edges extending between the upper and lower edges. A bay window closes the opening and is movable from an extended position extending across said opening and projecting away from the wall when the mobile living quarters are parked for use to a folded position extending across the opening and folded against the opening and a portion of the wall surrounding the opening. The bay window comprises a pair of tracks, a pair of side panes, and a horizontal hinge. The pair of tracks is substantially horizontal and extends outwardly from the side edges of the opening. Each of the pair of side panes is slidably mounted in the tracks, and also pivot relative to the tracks. The roof panel is mounted by a generally horizontal hinge on the sidewall above the upper edge, the roof panel swinging about the hinge from an outwardly projecting position supported by the panes when the bay window is in the extended position and hanging along said sidewall from the hinge when the bay window is in the folded position.